Is it worth learning Python over Ruby and PHP for Web Development?

Question

Is it worth learning Python over Ruby and PHP for Web Development? If so why?

Thank you in advance.

EDIT: Related on StackOverflow:

• Should I learn Ruby or Python?
• Django or RoR
• Rails or Django? (or something else?)
• Ruby on Rails versus Python
• What are the biggest differences between Python and Ruby from a philosophical perspective
• Ruby, Python or Perl?
• Python Vs. Ruby for Metaprogramming
• Why learn Perl, Python, Ruby if the company is using C++, C# or Java as the application language?
• Which scripting language should I learn after Perl?
• Interested in Collective Programming for the web — Ruby or Python or PHP?
• Scripting language choice for initial performance

The list above is taken from an answer provided by Paolo Bergantino to Best Scripting Language for Web Development

Answer 1

I only know PHP, and I really don't find it to be an absolutely awesome language. It's ok, it does the job, but it's nothing special. Python seems to be very illegible.. compact. At least that's my impression of it as someone who doesn't know it :D And I don't have a clue about Ruby ;)

Answer 2

+Python: According to the Tiobe index, Python is more popular than Ruby by a factor of about 2.

+Ruby: With Ruby you only need to learn one web framework.

+Python: More likely to be installed already.

+Ruby: Gaining in popularity, Python is holding steady.

It's kind of a toss-up. The languages are somewhat similar in both syntax and capability. Ruby wins against any language except Smalltalk for elegance and harmony in the object model, but Python is a fine design, without the big-bag-of-functions banality that a certain other language has...

It might be easier from a motivational standpoint to learn Python first, as Ruby has a tendency to suck you in and turn you into a fanboy.

Answer 3

You should learn Python, Ruby and PHP -- then you could choose the one you like best.

Answer 4

This is subjective, of course, but as someone who has used all three, I can say that I am definitely happiest with Ruby. I used with PHP for many years, though I never loved it. Then I was hired to work on a Pylons web project, so I refreshed my Python skills and was very happy with the change. However, I decided to learn Rails in parallel with Pylons and it became obvious pretty quickly that, even though I didn't know Ruby, it was a beautiful language and Rails was a brilliant framework. I did a substantial amount of work with Python, but really couldn't wait to start using Ruby.

I never considered PHP a "real" programming language. To me it's a templating language with a lot of functions. Python is a real OO scripting language which is a complete joy after PHP. However, Ruby is Python with much better anonymous functions and metaprogramming, which means a lot in terms of readability and the kind of interfaces you can design.

If you're trying to decide which one to invest time in learning for web development, to me the choice is definitely Ruby.

(I'm not sure from your question, but if you already know Ruby, Python isn't going to give you a whole lot to get excited about, except perhaps a little speed.)